Cycle-tracking apps stand behind their privacy policies as Roe teeters

Fertility and cycle tracking apps are widely used and can be a useful tool to help people keep track of their health. But reports regularly show that they, like other health apps, fail to protect user privacy. This error is of particular concern to users in the United States due to a leaked opinion from the Supreme Court that the court is trying to dismiss Roy's case. Fire Wade - Remove the right to abortion in the United States and allow states to criminalize the safe and life-saving medical system.

Information stored in bike tracking apps is not subject to HIPAA Health's privacy law, so companies have considerable discretion over how they use it and with whom they share it. They often share information with data brokers, advertisers, and other hard-to-find third parties. The Flow app has been cited by the Federal Trade Commission for sharing data with Facebook despite its promise to keep user data private.

To date, it doesn't look like data from things like bike-detection apps is being used to evaluate pregnant women in the United States, but data used by other internet apps has already been used for this purpose.

Cynthia Conti-Cook, a fellow at the Ford Foundation's Gender, Racial and Ethnic Justice Division, said: "It's a topic we shouldn't ignore writing a 2020 paper on digital surveillance of writing and abortion." .

The Verge reached out to a range of popular fertility apps and products to see if there were plans to tweet or tighten user data protection in response to reports that abortion is likely to become illegal in many states this summer. Many companies did not elaborate on any planned changes in response to this news, but rather relied on their existing policies to protect user data.

The Oura smart ring, which has a monthly cycle tracking feature, has no plans to share, company spokesman John Cooch said in an email. Apple did not respond to a request for comment on the period tracking feature in its Health app. Flow, a source cited by the FTC for the data sharing, said in a statement from spokesman Denai Thibault that the agency conducted an audit in March 2022 that found no "vulnerabilities in privacy practices" and did not share data with third parties. Side.

Bridget Loney, spokeswoman for popular period tracker Clue, told The Verge in an email that the app's data is "private and secure." “We have received reports from users who are concerned about how their data could be used by US courts if Roe v. Wade is dropped. We fully understand this concern,” the statement said. It is not reported whether the company will change or strengthen privacy protections.

Nurx, a telemedicine company that provides birth control and emergency contraception, told spokeswoman Anna Noder that it keeps patient information private. The statement said: "We will evaluate our response to any final decision in light of our goals and policies regarding access and affordability of contraceptives."

Glow told his press team in an email that he "will continue to protect the privacy and personal health information of our users without compromise," but did not say if he would make any changes to his policy.

Conti-Cook says companies will be skeptical of those who demand strict protection of user data regardless of their business model. Data about pregnant or potentially pregnant people is valuable to advertisers and other third parties because it is this group that goes out and buys new things for a potential unborn child. The business model for this type of application is to sell this data or make it available to partners, he says. "That's the business model of all surveillance capitalism."

For example, Clue states in its privacy policy that it does not share data with third parties or advertisers. The blog post states that its business model is not based on user data. But Glow and Nurx say in their privacy policy that they share data for marketing and promotional purposes. Flo 's policy states that it shares "unhealthy personal data" for marketing purposes.

And these four companies, including Oura Ring , state in their privacy policies that they will share users' personal data in response to a subpoena or legal obligation.

At the moment, the biggest concern for lawyers is that the data of individuals from these applications can be used against them if they already suspect a miscarriage. But it doesn't stop there, says Jerome Greco, public defender for the New York Legal Aid Society's Digital Forensics Division. “I think in the future it may be more comprehensive and they will be able to collect and analyze data to try to identify suspects,” he said. "I think law enforcement is more technically aware than ever before in history and they have a lot more resources than ever before."

Much of the digital information used to prosecute people for abortion was a web search and analysis of someone's physical phone - for example, a Mississippi woman who was hospitalized after giving birth to a stillborn fetus and whose web search history was used to lure her into into a kill trap. It's been done.

“We have seen cases where women have been used against Google searches, encrypted messages, emails and other types of messages such as Facebook Messenger and social media posts,” Conti-Cook said.

It is difficult to predict in a new way that states may use personal health data and other digital tools to criminalize abortion in order to prosecute those who suspect abortion. But Conte-Cook says being aware of predictable situations that may come up in the future helps people protect themselves.

Those concerned that their data could be used against them in abortion cases can take steps to protect themselves, says Conti-Cook: Don't give your phone to anyone at the police, social worker or hospital. Use Internet browsers that prevent detection. Use an encrypted text messaging app to discuss something confidential.

“Our digital autonomy is an extension of our physical autonomy, and that is how we should start thinking about it,” he says.